The Trouble with Darth Big Words
by jackyyy17
Summary: Ben Skywalker Training Fic. The title pretty much says it all.


The Trouble with Darth Big Words

by: jackyyy17

**Timeframe:** Post Dark Nest

**Genre:** Humor

**Summary:** Title says it well

**Disclaimer:** I don't own anything. (

**Notes:** This is in response to the Ben Skywalker March challenge posted on JCF:

A story featuring Ben in training including the following words: Capitulate, erstwhile, troglodyte, repugnance and ramshackle.

---------

Ben Skywalker sat at his computer station, staring mindlessly at the homework lesson displayed on the screen. Jedi Master Solusar had assigned it to him earlier in the day. It was yet another grammar lesson. Ben hated those the worst.

This wasn't what the Jedi were supposed to do. Ben wanted action, adventure, something to get his hands dirty with."

But yet, he was still here, stuck at the Jedi Temple located on Ossus, while other Master/Apprentice pairs got to go on missions. Life wasn't fair.

His Master, Jacen Solo, always stressed, that "School work comes first, Ben." And then he would always scold the boy, "Adventure. Excitement. A Jedi craves not these things. You need to learn patience."

Ben would always groan in frustration and respond, "I am not impatient. I should be out there, in the galaxy. And you are starting to sound like my Dad."

But it still seemed that there was always schoolwork to be done, that Ben could never seem to finish. And to top it off, now matter how hard Ben tried, he always seemed to fail his tests and quizzes, especially in the class, _Understanding Basic 101_.

He was beginning to think the teachers were giving him extra work, and failing him on purpose. He was convinced that his father, Grand Jedi Master Luke Skywalker, was telling the teachers to keep Ben busy, especially after he overheard his Father telling Jacen not to take Ben on any mission until he brought up his grades.

But worst of all, was his Mother, Jedi Master Mara Jade Skywalker. Ben's Mom always wanted him to excel in everything he did, including his schoolwork, and as his grades got lower, she became more irate. And when Mom was mad, Dad did everything in his power to make her happy again, because it was not fun to live with an aggravated, former Imperial assassin.

Ben remembered his Mother telling him about her past endeavors as the Emperor's Hand. At first he was dumbfounded, and refused to talk to her for months, but now he almost wished he could be in that position. "At least I would get to go on missions."

Ben snapped out of his daydream when he heard a knock on his door. He stretched out with the Force, and felt the familiar presence of Jacen.

"Come in, Jacen."

The door swooshed to the side to reveal Jacen Solo, leaning against the doorframe, looking so much like his Uncle Han that it wasn't even funny.

"Good afternoon, my young apprentice." His voice was smooth.

"And good afternoon to you too, Han Junior." His voice was mocking. If Ben had learned one thing over the years, it was that Jacen hated being called that.

"Ha, ha! Very funny. I came here to give you this datapad." Jacen held up the smooth silver object, waving it slowly. "It contains information on a mission I was thinking of taking you on, but if your going to mock me, I'll just leave." Jacen slipped started to slip the datapad into his Jedi robes, and turned to leave.

"No, wait." Ben jumped up from his chair with excitement, and knocked it over in the process. _Finally, a real mission._ "I'm sorry, Jace, I'll never call you that again. Just let me go on this mission. Please."

Ben watched, as Jacen's brown eyes studied the boy, as if coming to a decision. "Fine, we'll go on the mission with two conditions. One, you are to call me Jacen, not Han Junior or Jace."

"And?"

"Two, you have to study up on the mission before hand. Read this datapad from beginning to end, and memorize every detail." Again, Jacen waved the silvery object in front of Ben's face. "Then, and only then, will we go on the mission. I don't want you ill-prepared. Do you understand?"

"Yes Master, I understand." Jacen had stopped waving the datapad in the air, but held it high above Ben's head, instead. Ben jumped to catch it, and after the third try, and lots of complaining, was victorious.

Jacen made as if to leave, but added, "Remember, read the WHOLE thing. When you have it memorized, tell me, and we will proceed from there."

But Ben wasn't even paying attention to Jacen. He was engrossed in the datapad.

_**The mission is simple. A Jedi is needed to journey to the planet Eislo, and meet with the native troglodytes of the region...** _

"Troglodytes? That's a big word. What are troglodytes?" Ben brought up the Holodictionary, and entered in the word.

_Troglodyte - somebody living in a cave, especially somebody who belonged to a prehistoric cave-dwelling community_

"Okay, so I get to work with cave dwellers. I guess it could be worse. They could be Bothan Politicians." Ben picked up the datapad and continued reading.

_**These beings have been engrossed in an erstwhile feud…**_

"Engrossed? Erstwhile? Wow, whoever wrote this must be smart." Ben mulled, as he typed in the word he didn't understand into the Holodictionary.

_Erstwhile - In the past; at a former time; formerly._

"Okay, I guess. But they could have just said former" Ben continued to read.

_**…in an erstwhile feud, which can be dated back to several centuries ago over the ownership of a giant rock hill, **_

_**which **__**both sides feel is their ****ceremonial or religious grounds. Their repugnance…**_

"Another one?" Ben typed in the new word.

_Repugnance - Extreme dislike or aversion_

"Okay, now this is starting to get ridiculous. Which ever idiot wrote this should have used dislike so stupid people can read this too.

And they're fighting over a rock? That's just dumb." Yet, Ben still continued.

_**Their repugnance toward the valley people, over the enchanted area, has caused a **__**major **_

_**civil **__**war between the two.**__**Both sides have taken to living in** **ramshackle conditions.**_

"Ramshackle? Is that even a word?" The holodictionary claimed it to be.

_Ramshackle - So poorly constructed or kept up that disintegration is likely_

"Who ever wrote this should be tortured. What a stupid word. But I will go on this mission." Ben once more continued his reading.

_**Your job is to help both sides reach a peaceful agreement. If this cannot be achieved, one side must be forced to capitulate…**_

"Capitulate? Capitulate?" Ben was almost yelling now. This wasn't even funny anymore. They knew that he was bad in his _Basic_ class, why were they torturing him? Ben stared at the offending holopad for the longest time, before pushing it to the floor, where it made a satisfying thud. "Where do these people come up with this fodder?"

Scooting his chair back with force, Ben scooped up the datapad and stormed out of his room. He stomped, angrily, all the way to Jacen's apartment, and barged in, without even knocking. Jacen, who was sitting at his desk reading a datapad, didn't even look up.

Ben slammed the datapad down in front of Jacen.

"What, you don't want to go on the mission?" Jacen asked, his tone neutral, as he still studied his datapad.

"I would, if I could understand theses Darth Big Words."

"Darth Big Words, Ben?" This time Jacen did look up from his datapad with a lopsided grin that made him look like his father again. "I would have expected better from you, Ben."

"You did that on purpose," Ben accused.

"Did what?" Jacen's smile was a little too superficial for Ben to believe he was innocent.

"You put the big words in there, because you know I'm not smart enough to understand them." His agitation was starting to show, as his face was becoming as red as his hair. "And there probably is no mission to Eilso, is there? You made that up too."

"Ben, why would I do something like that?" Jacen tried to hide his mischievous grin, but a little bit worked its way to his features.

"Agh! Just forget it." Ben turned and stomped out of the apartment, leaving the now fully grinning Jacen behind.

-------------

"So, does Ben still want to go running off across the galaxy on mission of grandeur?" Grand Jedi Master Luke Skywalker asked Jacen, as the made their way to the cafeteria.

"Nah, I think I got it out of his system for a while."

"Really?" Luke asked skeptically.

"Yeah, but he might still be angry."

"Angry? Jacen, what did you do to my son?" Now Luke was suspicious. "I told you not to flat out tell him no missions. We don't need his legendary Jade temper in our house. Lord knows I have to deal with Mara as it is."

"Oh, don't worry, Master. I didn't say he couldn't go. He actually was the one that decided not too. All I had to do was introduce him to a datapad full of Darth Big Words." With that said, Jacen turned on his heel, and walked off in the other direction.

"Darth Big Words?" Luke stood there for a moment, mouth gaping open. It wasn't too often anymore that something shocked him. But this…

"Hey Jacen, wait."

The End


End file.
